Diagnosis and therapy of gastric cancer center dot The new S3 guideline

In recent years significant progress has been made in the therapy of gastric cancer. Consequently, in 2011 S3 guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of this disease were issued in Germany for the first time. Apart from neoadjuvant perioperative treatment, which has already been an established therapy in Europe for several years, adjuvant therapy is now recognized in the new guidelines, an option that has long been standard practice in Asian countries. In addition, molecular targeted agents are being acknowledged even for palliative treatment of gastric cancer. With these new options an average overall survival of 16 months can now be achieved. Moreover, additional improvement of overall survival can be achieved by second-line therapies with good quality of life. The multitude of therapeutic options now allows individualized therapy of gastric cancer patients, similar to other malignant entities. As a matter of principle, a multidisciplinary panel, e.g. a regularly held tumor board, is mandatory for correct treatment planning.